MVNO FreedomPop launches £9.99 10Gb 4G data SIM bundle

FreedomPop, the US and UK MVNO, has launched a limited time promotion offering 10Gb of 4G data for as little as £9.99.

The MVNO lays claim to being the first provider of 100% free mobile plans, the most rudimentary of which offers 200 minutes, 200 texts and 200mb of data. Other plans in its standard range scale up to 2Gb of data per month for £10, however the announcement of its limited-time promotion to court new users in the UK as it makes the hop across the pond after establishing itself in the US.

Those who jump on the offer now will be able to benefit from the tariff indefinitely, which includes micro, nano and regular SIM cards; unlimited minutes, text and the 10Gb of data; as well as a couple of other sweeteners to help convince prospective customers to jump ship. While 10Gb is included in the monthly package for consumers; FreedomPop charges a range of over-usage fees, including 1p/Mb of data for paying subscribers, and 1.5p/Mb for those on the more limited free tariff. FreedomPop also charges a 99p activation charge

FreedomPop has signed an agreement to sit on Three’s 4G and 3G networks, which is famous for delivering binge-worthy sums of data for a lower-than-average price point. Earlier this year, Three also enabled The People’s Operator, a charity-centric MVNO, to launch 2GB 4G data bundles for £6.99 per month.

Whether or not the freemium model will take off for telecoms as it has in the mobile gaming sector will be interesting to observe. Activision Blizzard, which acquired King for nearly $6 billion last year, owns Candy Crush Saga, one of the biggest exponents of the freemium model. Candy Crush Saga, according to Think Gaming, generates nearly a million dollars a day thanks to in-app purchasing in the US alone.

If the freemium model is able to transpose nicely into the telecoms industry, FreedomPop may well have bagged itself a lucrative and highly disruptive market niche.